Halito, everybody, I’m Barbara Jackson Chapman, your JBC Tribal Receptionist, Enrollment Specialist, and the Inner-Circle (newsletter) publisher. I have been working with the Tribe since July, 1996. I am your first point of contact when you call or come by the Tribal Office. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any questions. Our main line is (318) 992-2717. For those members who live outside our area, we have toll free numbers which are 1-877-595-6239 or 1-877-970-0109.

I would like to ask all Tribal Members, when you have an address or phone number change please call, come by, fax, or email me at bchapman@jenachoctaw.org so I can make changes to our address list. This is very important that you do this. All departments at some time or other will be sending out about what is going on and we need your updated address. Thank you for your cooperation.

Enrollment

To become a member of the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians you must be related to one of the descends on our 1995 Tribal Roll. You must fill out an Enrollment application and ancestry chart, and you will be asked to submit copied documents such as a certified birth certificate, social security card, a marriage license is not required, but you must have a DNA testing done.

You are responsible for making an appointment with the Health Department for DNA testing. Please contact the Health Department at (318) 992-2763. It usually takes about one week for the results of the DNA testing to be mailed to the Health Department. At this time, I will request the results by letter from them. Once all documents are completed, the Enrollment Specialist has 20 days to review all documents. If everything is in order, it will be sent to the Enrollment Committee which consists of 5 members. The Enrollment Committee has 20 working days also to review and approve. When approved by the Committee, it will be sent to Chief and Tribal Council for their review and final approval. For any questions, please contact me, Barbara.

The tribe’s newsletter, Inner-Circle, is very informative. I hope that every Tribal Member take the time to read the different department articles and enjoy looking at the pictures. If you have any suggestions or ideas for improvement, please call me, Barbara. We are always looking for new ideas.

Deadline for articles are usually at different times. If you would like to place an article in the newsletter, please drop them off at the tribal office, mail, email or fax it to (318) 992-8244. You are welcome to send pictures, recipes, for sale items, party invitations, Happy Birthday ads, etc.

Accounting Department

The accounting department consists of Candy Barton, Accounting Manager, and Amy Bruit, Accounting Clerk. Their duties include payable, receivables, payroll, grant reporting and all financial matters concerning the Tribe. Together they have over 40 years of financial experience.